Château Marceline

The estate

In the 1960s Victor Dubuc, a garage mechanic, planted a small vineyard at Saint-Estèphe and worked it in the evenings and at weekends, the way others keep a kitchen garden. He took his grapes to the Saint-Estèphe cooperative all his life, and his son Henri did the same until 2009, when he decided it was time to hand on. Henri’s daughter Annie entrusted the parcels to Céline, Henri’s granddaughter, and her husband, Marc Druesne, who created Château Marceline that year and named it for the 2 of them, Marc and Céline.

The vines grow on sandy clay and gravel over the limestone of Saint-Estèphe, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, 43 years old on average and 55 at the oldest. The wine is made in concrete vats and spends 12 months in barrel, about 8,000 bottles a year. For the estate’s 10th year, in 2019, came the Cuvée HH, named for Céline’s grandparents Henri and Hélène: a parcel picked by hand, fermented and aged entirely in an amphora, 1,000 bottles. Marceline is a Cru Artisan du Médoc for the vintages 2022 to 2026.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Estèphe

Commune

Saint-Estèphe

Classification

Cru Artisan du Médoc, vintages 2022 to 2026

Owners

Marc and Céline Druesne, since 2009

Vineyard

Vines 43 years old on average, 55 at the oldest

Ground

Sandy clay and gravel over limestone

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 40%

Cellar

Concrete vats; 12 months in barrel; the Cuvée HH in amphora

Production

About 8,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château Marceline; Cuvée HH, from 2019

Sources: Château Marceline · Château Marceline, the wines · Crus Artisans du Médoc, Château Marceline · Maison du Vin de Saint-Estèphe, Château Marceline · Qualisud, the Crus Artisans du Médoc classification, 2022 to 2026